In the processing of delivery slips for gift sales in a department store, a written order for a gift is prepared when a customer has requested the department store to deliver a gift to another person. The written order is used for producing a delivery slip. The delivery slip is used during the period that the ordered item or gift is selected, wrapped, and delivered to a delivery station together with a delivery memorandum. The gift is delivered to the destination from the delivery station and receipt of the gift is acknowledged by a signature. The signed receipt is returned to the store to complete billing and record keeping procedures.
Different department stores employ different types of delivery slips, but in general, each set of delivery slips commonly includes the following individual slips:
(1) A work slip which is used in a delivery department where items ordered for delivery are taken, wrapped for delivery and the work slip also serving to clear accounts;
(2) A slip corresponding to a tag attached to the ordered item to be delivered;
(3) A duplicate slip used in the delivery station for dispatch; and
(4) A slip used as a receipt and upon which the signature of the recipient is written to certify the delivery of the ordered item to the destination.
Information in the written order for the gifts, such as the name and address of the customer, the name and address of each person to receive an ordered item or gift, and the number of ordered items or gifts, are entered, as common data, on each individual slip. The slips relating to the same order are then forwarded, as one set of slips, to the delivery, gift, or similar department responsible for fulfilling the customer's request. It is essential that the individual slips in a set be arranged in the proper order so that they can be removed as various steps in the delivery process are completed.
Heretofore, the above-described slips have been prepared according to (1) a spirit system, (2) a copy system (or an overlay system), and (3) a hand written system. According to these systems, a set of delivery slips is prepared by transferring or copying necessary data on preprinted sheets from the written order.
However, since a busy department store prepares a large number of different delivery slips to fulfill many gift orders, the slips often become mixed up and out of order or are incorrectly issued in duplicate. Accordingly, much time and labor must be devoted to checking the delivery slips causing the conventional procedure to be uneconomical and inefficient.